1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a print control method, a print control apparatus, and a print control program for forming print orders to print service providers which provide an online print service via the Internet.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, owing to the establishment of communication infrastructure and the development of an information communication technique, an information providing service and an information using service using the Internet can be provided. Particularly, in a multimedia environment in which all data such as text data, image data, audio data, and the like has been digitized, information can be shared and the information can be provided, so that many new information providing services via the Internet have been established. At the same time, a technique for finely patterning a semiconductor device has favorably been improved. Sizes of parts and costs of an LSI and a solid state image pickup device constructing image input apparatuses represented by a digital still camera and a digital video camera have been reduced. Thus, those image input apparatuses have been widespread among customers as electronic apparatuses for photographing an image. Image data photographed by the customer who purchased a digital camera is stored into a memory built in the digital camera, thereafter, generally transferred to a recording apparatus represented by an HDD or the like provided in a personal computer which the customer possesses, managed and stored, or written into an external recording medium such as a CD-R or the like, and stored. In association with the spread of not only the digital camera but also a color scanner, an image can be easily formed and stored as electronic data.
As mentioned above, while the information using and providing services using the communication infrastructure is rapidly increasing due to the realization of multimedia and the rapid development of the Internet, an application service provider (hereinafter, referred to as a photo site) and a print service provider (hereinafter, referred to as a print site) have appeared. That is, the photo site provides a service such that the image data photographed by the customer by using the image input apparatus is held into a memory area of a server on the Internet and the image data can be browsed again when the customer desires. According to the print site, an electronic document such as New Year's card, document made by a word processor, an image, etc. is transferred from the customer by using the Internet, thereby printing printed matter and providing goods.
A service site (hereinafter, referred to as a print site) in which the photo site and the print site are integrated and which has appeared in recent years exists. According to such an image service site, uploading of an image file is received from a client computer via the Internet, the received image file is stored, a thumbnail is formed, and a preview picture plane is formed, thereby enabling the customer to recognize the image file held in the client computer. The image service site permits the image file to be shared (accessed) by a plurality of users in accordance with an instruction from the owner of the held image file. The image service site sets a paper size, a printing method, a print store (hereinafter, referred to as a print shop), and the like into the held image file in accordance with an instruction of a print order from the owner of the held image file or from the user to whom the owner gave permission of a print instruction, and executes a print ordering process of the image to the print shop via the Internet.
However, there is a problem such that the user has to select one of the print shops which are in close association with the image service site as a print output destination of the held image file and a desired print shop (which is not in close association with the image service site) of the user cannot be designated as a print output destination. That is, in order to use a service of making a print order via the Internet by setting the desired print shop of the user to the print output destination (hereinafter, such a service is referred to as an online print service), the user needs to make a print order to the print site or image service site with which the desired print shop is in close association.
However, in each print site or image service site, the services which are handled are different. Specifically speaking, not only a print paper size and resolution but also a T-shirt print, a mug cup print, and the like are largely different in dependence on each image service site. There is, consequently, a problem such that the user has to access the different image service site again and form a print order each time by the online print service which the user wants to use, the user has to recognize which image service site provides which kind of print service, and a burden to the user is large.
There is also a case where it is impossible to set all print orders from a browser on the client computer in dependence on the image service site (print site). In order to use such an image service site, the user has to prepare template information and a dedicated application for issuing the print order to the image service site into a hard disk of the client computer. That is, specification of an order table (for example, including the template information of the print order) at the time of making a print order differs every print site. When the user uses a plurality of print sites, it is necessary to form print order information according to the specification of the order table which is required by each print site and to request the print order. It is necessary to hold the template information (also called format information) for each print site into the computer. Therefore, if an information amount of the template information or dedicated application is large, they cannot be stored in case of a memory capacity of a mobile PC. There is a case where the print order cannot be issued from the mobile PC. It is inconvenient for the user.
There is also a problem such that the user who uses the print services of a plurality of print sites has to learn an order action according to the print order information based on the specification of the template information for each of the plurality of print sites, so that efficiency of the ordering process is remarkably deteriorated.
Further, there is a problem such that in order to use a plurality of print sites, the user needs to perform user registration to each print site, and in the case of accessing the print site via the Internet, the user is generally urged to input a password upon user registration, so that the user has to manage the password to each print site and a burden to the user is large.